by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Shortly after Teresa Sopp graduated from Florida State University with her law degree in 1978, she took a job with the Supervisor of Elections Office in Hillsborough County. At the time, the Tampa office was in such disarray that the local police had to physically remove the supervisor.
Once order was restored, Robin Krivanek was installed, becoming the state’s first female supervisor of elections. Along the way, Krivanek did two things: one, she turned the office around and, two, she gained Sopp’s utmost respect.
“That office was in complete disrepair when she took over,” said Sopp. “She turned it into one of the leading offices in the state and it still is a model office today.”
Twenty-four years later, Sopp is pondering a run at the Duval County Supervisor of Elections job and she said the Sept. 10 primaries and ensuing problems weren’t the catalyst, but they did reinforce her impression that the job can be done better.
“I think the job can be more dynamic and proactive,” said Sopp, who was born in Jacksonville and has been in private practice since 1991. Sopp also said she hasn’t formally committed to running and the Nov. 5 general election won’t serve as her barometer. “I’ve formed a committee and I’m looking into it. I’ve gotten advice both ways and the committee will meet this week.”
Sopp said the deciding factor won’t be whether she wants the job — she gave the impression that she very much would — but rather her ability to garner citywide support in a relatively short time (the election is in May). She said bipartisan support is the key to her running.
According to Sopp, her experience during the Sept. 10 primaries — an election in which numerous things went wrong for Supervisor of Elections John Stafford’s office — helped open her eyes to the problems in Duval County.
“After the September primaries, I thought, “Oh my God, how could this happen again?’ ” she said. “I had difficulty voting at my own polling place. Howard Kelley, the CEO of Sally Industries, was in line with me and we were lamenting about the difficulties.”
Sopp said shortly after the election she offered her services to Stafford in virtually any capacity. She figured the office could use her organizational abilities and overall interest in assuring a smooth election.
“I never got a call,” she said. “When you turn down that kind of free assistance then maybe it’s time to step aside.”
Sopp believes the office in the future needs to be proactive in dealing with issues before they become problems. With practically two years between each major election, there’s more than enough time to prepare and take advantage of technological advancements. Sopp also thinks the office could do more to get the non-voters excited about elections and into the precincts.
“My take is we can move more than $500 billion around the country every day, so why can’t we use the same technology to vote,” said Sopp. “The poll workers should be trained and tested and get hands-on training. It’s not a job that you can just show up for and get an instruction list.
“I’ve always been interested in the issues of elections and the right to vote. It’s a crucible of this country and I’ve had a long career of volunteer service. At some point you have to stand up and realize it’s your civic duty [to run for office or work in the public sector]. Mayor John Delaney and [General Counsel] Rick Mullaney realized public service was the right thing to do.
“I had been thinking about running for public defender when he [Lou Frost] retires, but he hasn’t made an announcement yet. I see a bigger need right now.”